Rishi Sunak has broken cover after abandoning plans to hold a summer general election.
The PM said he was “absolutely determined to fight” in the wake of the local elections catastrophe that saw the Conservatives suffer their worst results in 40 years. He insisted the general election result was not a “foregone conclusion” as he responded to a Tory reckoning at the ballot box last week.
Downing Street – reeling from loss of nearly 500 councillors – is understood to have shelved plans for a snap election and is now likely to call a poll in October or November.
Mr Sunak is facing ridicule after he claimed the “results suggest we are heading for a hung Parliament” with “Keir Starmer propped up in Downing Street by the SNP, Liberal Democrats and the Greens”.
We demand a general election now
Voters are demanding a general election now as Rishi Sunak’s government fails to turn the country around.
The Prime Minister was handed the keys of No10 in October 2022 without a single vote being cast by Tory MPs, party members or the public. He has binned the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto as well as the pledges he made when he ran against Liz Truss to be leader.
Mr Sunak promised to lead a government with “integrity, professionalism and accountability” at every level, but he has faced a series of sleaze scandals.
Critics have warned that the country is broken after 14 years of Tory rule. The economy is in recession, families are struggling with the rising cost of living, patients face huge NHS waiting lists and classrooms have been closed because of dodgy concrete in schools.
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Asked whether he was taking the public and his own MPs “for fools”, the PM replied: “The independent analysis shows that whilst of course this was a disappointing weekend for us, that the result of the next general election isn’t a foregone conclusion. Indeed actually is closer than, or the situation is closer than, many people are saying or indeed some of the opinion polls are predicting.
“And that’s why I’m absolutely determined to fight incredibly hard for what I believe and for the future country that I want to build, and that’s what I’m going to do. Fight for this country, fight for the things I believe and deliver for everyone on the things that matter to them.”
Ben Page of pollster Ipsos said the hung parliament prediction was “for the birds”, adding: “If you look at the swing in Blackpool South… you look at these local election results, which we haven’t seen anything of this kind since just before Labour won a landslide in 1997.”
David Campbell Bannerman, chairman of the Conservative Democracy Organisation that is critical of Mr Sunak, said: “This is utter nonsense.” He accused the PM of making “truly desperate claims trying to save own skin”.
The Tory leader also evaded questions about Tory MPs urging him to change course rightwards to win back voters. Speaking during a visit to an Islington community centre, he instead said: “What unites all members of our party, MPs and beyond, are our values as Conservatives and the type of country that we want to build.”
The Liberal Democrats will also attempt to pile pressure on the PM on Tuesday by tabling a motion of no confidence in the Government when Parliament returns. Leader Sir Ed Davey said: “These local elections showed the country has had enough of Rishi Sunak and his out-of-touch Conservative Government.”
He said the Tory leader “continues to desperately cling on to power, holed up in Downing Street until the bitter end. Conservative MPs need to wake up and smell the coffee, and back giving the country the election it so desperately wants and needs.” More than 212,000 people have now signed the Mirror’s General Election Now petition on the 38 Degrees website.